Tasting - Chateau Ste. Michelle Rose

 

 

 

Name: Chateau Ste. Michelle Rose

Variety: Blended - 78% Grenache, 12% Mourvèdre, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.5% Counoise and 2.5% Cinsault

Region: Columbia Valley, Woodlinville, Washington, United States

Year: 2023

Price: $12

 

 

Online Tasting Note Review: "Canned Rose is making the best of it. Nice cherry/strawberry balanced nose. Can be one dimensional but get in there to feel the depth. Good backbone. Keeps everything honest, especially any metallic aftertastes. Subdued ending, will still capture attention." - https://www.vivino.com/US/en/chateau-ste-michelle-rose/w/1940205?year=2023&price_id=36267194

Wine Folly: Grenache - Stewed Strawberry, Grilled Plum, Leather, Dried Herbs, Blood Orange

Mourvedre - Blackberry, Black Pepper, Cocoa, Tobacco, Roasted Meat

Cabernet Sauvignon - Black Currant, Blackberry, Pencil Lead, Tobacco, Mint

Counoise - N/A

Cinsault - Raspberry, Red Currant, Tart Cherry, Violet, Black Tea

 

Source: https://winefolly.com/grapes/ 

 

My review: For my second wine tasting, I wanted to go for something a bit lighter than the red wine that I had for my previous tasting. I went back to the same wine store as the one from my previous tasting and after some browsing and discussing, I landed on something unique - a Rose wine. This Rose wine in particular is from Chateau Ste. Michelle in the Columbia Valley region of Woodlinville, Washington in the United States. 

Chateau Ste. Michelle Rose is a blended grape made up of five different grapes; 78% Grenache, 12% Mourvèdre, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.5% Counoise and 2.5% Cinsault. I admittedly had not heard of several of these grapes before choosing this wine. The vintage year of this wine was 2023, which on reading online was a good vintage year for this particular wine. It only cost me $12 as well. I decided, like my last review, to not have this wine with dinner. 

I will say, I think this wine was also delicious, and I liked it better than the Pinot Noir I had for my first wine tasting. On first taste, I could definitely tell it was less full bodied than the Pinot Noir, as it did not hit the back of my throat with as strong as a feeling. As I got a feel for the wine, there were several things I noticed. Even though the wine is marketed as dry, even though I could feel that, I also felt as if there were hints of sweetness left over, perhaps more residual sugar than the winemakers let on? It could also be my flavor pallet not being fully up to par quite yet, but it was defintely strange to taste something that felt dry and sweet at the same time. I got a fruity aroma from the wine on multiple sniffs, though I couldn't quite put my finger on what flower exactly I was smelling. As for any tastes, I definitely tasted hints of citrus in the wine, as well as fruits such as watermelon, raspberries, and peaches. Those were about everything I could get. Overall I really enjoyed this wine and would also have this one again. 8-8.5/10.